Downton Abbey, USA: Follow Your Gut Feeling
by kloomis
Summary: Mary, Henry, George, and their new toddler Rob are moving to America (10 years after the final episode). They are expecting many new surprises – but this is not one of them.
"'Rumor confirmed: Hitler to attack Royal Navy.' I'm beginning to think that I should never pick up a newspaper again."

"Aren't you glad we're leaving Europe?"

"Glad? I'm not sure if that is the word I would choose."

Henry placed his arm around me. "What happened to 'this is going to be such a grand adventure?'"

I flicked my wrist, dropping the newspaper back on its pile. I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and then looked Henry in the eyes. "Life will always be a grand adventure with you at my side."

"AHEM, ahem."

Henry and I snapped our heads behind us.

George rolled his eyes. "If I had a pound for every time you made me gag each day…"

He grabbed my suitcase from my hand and walked briskly ahead of us along the dock. "Come on, we don't want to miss our boat."

His little brother Rob sprinted forward, his tiny, chubby arms flailing in the air. "I wanna meet Lady Liberty!"

No sooner had my foot stepped on American soil than I felt another tug at my skirt.

"Mommy, can we go get hot dogs?"

"Rob, quit worrying. We will have all the time in the world to eat American food."

"Grandma told me that they are so good that the Pres'dent had them with King George and Queen Elizabeth on a fancy picnic!"

I grabbed Rob's shoulders and led him through the crowd next to Henry and George.

"Rob, you're making me even more hungry than I already am! How about we focus on actually making it into the city," Henry said.

"Look at that line," George said as we followed the swarm of people from our boat through the doors of the first building.

"Well, let's not complain about it now," I said as we settled into our spot in line. "It's simply good to be here, right?"

"I'm hungry," Rob said.

"Some attendants are opening up new lines! Quick, let's go!" George said.

We picked up our luggage and hurried forward. Only one family beat us to the front. Henry had his documents along with the boys', and I held onto my own documents. Henry gave the passports to the attendant right as another attendant opened up the booth right next to ours. I briskly walked over.

"Passport?" the attendant asked. I handed over my papers and waited as the man stamped my passport and rustled through my papers. "Are you visiting or moving?" the attendant asked.

"Moving. My husband was offered a job of designing cars at Ford. That, along with all the political unrest in Europe right now, made us decide to return to my mother's roots," I explained.

"Congratulations," the man said as he continued filling out paperwork. A minute or two later he handed my passport back and said, "Welcome to America."

"Thank you!" I said, and turned to join Henry and the boys. They weren't at the booth anymore. I walked over to the perimeter of the large hall and scanned the room. The noise of hundreds of voices seemed to grow louder as I realized that they were nowhere in sight. I walked along the length of the wall to look from a different angle. I could not see them anywhere, and the room was filling up with more and more people by the second.

I started to panic. Where were they?

My eyes landed on the doors where people were funneling after their documentation was cleared. They must have gone to the next room.

I passed through the doors, my eyes carefully scanning back and forth, looking for any sign of the tall dark-headed figure, or the slender blonde young man, or the small pale boy. I walked the perimeter of the room. I walked through the middle of the room, pushing through people, eyes darting left and right, forwards and backwards. They were still nowhere in sight.

Where was the mass of people headed now?

Ticket booths. They were buying tickets and walking outside.

I got in line, my eyes never resting from their anxious scanning of the crowd. I bought a ticket and went outside, searching the crowd surrounding the ferry. My eyes still did not find their prize.

I quickly decided to go search the ferry before I tried re-tracing my steps and searching the crowded rooms. I made my way to the ramp and boarded the crowded ferry. They would stay somewhere easy to spot, right? I pushed through the crowd, making my way around the perimeter of the ferry. It was large and there were so many people. I climbed the stairs and went to the upper level, which was also brimming full of people. I pushed through the crowd with no success.

Just as I reached the side opposite of the stairs, the captain rang the bell and yelled, "All aboard!"

"No!" I shouted frantically, and tried to push through the crowd again to reach the stairs. What if Henry and the boys weren't on the ferry? I couldn't go to the city without them. I needed to get back on the island.

I could see people disconnecting the boat from the ramp right as I got to the top of the stairs. I rushed down the stairs as fast as I could, always pushing past people.

The boat was starting to move. There was space between the dock and the boat.

"Wait!" I cried. I pushed through more people. I was almost to the edge of the boat, but the dock was now over fifteen feet away.

I rushed to one of the men in uniform and pleaded for him to take me back to the island.

The dock was now thirty feet away.

"Sir, you _have_ to tell your captain to bring the boat back!"

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, but there's nothing I can do."

My anxiety reached a whole new level. I tried to alleviate it by pressing against the crowd once again and yelling, "Henry? George? Rob?"

There was no reply.

I stood at the top of the stairs and watched from the upper level as everyone climbed off the ferry.

When I was sure that everyone had exited and my family was not among them, I descended the stairs and walked down the ramp.

My continuous eye scanning of the crowd eventually gave up in despair to scanning the huge city in front of me. It seemed daunting rather than enchanting.

I found a bench nearby the dock and sat down. I would wait for the next ferry and search that crowd until I found my family.

Three hours, six ferries later, and no family.

I talked to one of the crew of the ferry and asked him the best way to try to get in contact with my family. He suggested visiting the police department just a block down the road.

I went and explained my situation, and a police officer said he would try to get in contact with someone on Ellis Island. Meanwhile, I should go back and keep watching the ferries, then check back to see if the police had heard anything.

I returned to my post.

After the next ferry came in and it appeared to be yet another boat full of strangers, the pain of hunger became impossible to ignore. Figuring I still had another twenty minutes until the next ferry came in, I crossed the street to look for a place to get some food. Thankfully, I had my purse with some money in it.

I remembered seeing Nathan's Famous Hot Dog restaurant halfway to the police station. I walked in, the pleasant aroma of grilled meat and freshly baked rolls meeting my nose. I tried to let go of some of my anxiety and enjoy the moment.

As I walked up to the clerk, there was something very familiar about the tall dark-headed figure, the slender blonde young man, and the small pale boy in line ordering right in front of me.


End file.
